More beautiful, bigger, newer. Looking at the crowds rushing to Haussmann-Saint-Lazare station this Monday, we understand that the new RER NG (for New Generation) was expected. And not just because it was delivered two years late.
Star of the day, he was entitled to a presentation with great fanfare in the presence of Valérie Pécresse, president of Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, Brice Rabaste, mayor of Chelles (77) , Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO of Alstom and unlimited macaroons for the guests who came to attend his first trip on the RER E line.
More space, more speed, more connectivity
Built by Alstom, this new train was designed specifically for Île-de-France and to adapt to the particularities of the region, according to Henri Poupart-Lafarge.
In Paris, an area dense with users and frequent stops, it is supposed to improve the punctuality of services thanks to its strong acceleration and braking power combined with its large doors which should make it easier for travelers to get on and off.
In more remote areas of the region, the RER NG will offer improved comfort to users with more seats (20% more), more comfortable spaces, improved lighting and USB sockets between the seats.
All RER E in 2026, all RER D in 2028, no RER B
Initially, it will gradually replace the trainsets of the RER E and RER D lines. On the RER E (or Eole), it will accompany the extension of the line towards the west, first to La Défense in spring 2024, then to Mantes-la-Jolie in 2026.
On the RER D line, it is even more expected given the difficulties encountered by traffic (delays, suspensions and repeated incidents). It is in 2024 that the line should receive its first “NG”. With a delivery of four trains per month according to IDFM, all trains will be replaced in 2028.
Unfortunately for users of the RER B, the other ailing line in the Ile-de-France network, the RER NG cannot be deployed there because of the curvature of the line and the size of the tunnels. For it, IDFM has therefore ordered the MI20, a specific train whose delivery is currently scheduled for early 2027, still two years late.
“The biggest contract in the world”
In total, IDFM, the organizing authority for public transport in the Ile-de-France region, has invested 3.75 billion euros to renew all of the rolling stock on lines D and E, which between them transport 1.4 million passengers each. days. “It’s the biggest contract in the world for rolling stock with 365 trainsets ordered,” insisted Valérie Pécresse, “we’re pulling out all the stops! »
Fortunately for the finances of the region and its inhabitants, this new train consumes 25% less electricity, compared to its predecessors and is intended to operate for forty years, the equivalent of six million kilometers.
“By 2030, all the trains in Ile-de-France will have been renovated and the metros are in the process of following suit because we have 100 new metros arriving on the network,” said the president of the region.